HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL: Lake View win boosts confidence

Chiefs open season 2-0

SAN ANGELO, Texas - It's early in the season, but the Lake View High School boys basketball team is gaining confidence with each victory.

The Chiefs improved to 2-0 with a hard-fought 51-47 nondistrict win over the Big Spring Steers in their home opener at the Ben Norton Gymnasium on Friday night.

Lake View led 27-23 at the half, before Big Spring opened the third quarter with a 12-2 run to take a 35-29 advantage.

The Chiefs closed the third quarter on a 3-pointer by Ryan Chaney to pull within 37-34.

Brandell Collins, who finished with a game-high 20 points, scored six straight points early in the fourth to give the Chiefs a 42-37 lead.

Big Spring's Tavarez Walker, who led the Steers with 19 points, hit one of his four 3-pointers to cut the deficit to 47-46 with 28 seconds remaining in regulation.

Francisco Pena and Ryan Chaney both knocked down a pair of free throws down the stretch to fend off the Steers, who dropped to 1-1.

"I think when they got the lead, we kind of lost our composure," Lake View head coach Robert Chaney said. "And we talked to them about that during the timeout. I said, 'You know, you've lost control of your emotions.' I said, 'You've got to get that back.'

"I think we made a steal and Ryan hit the three and it kind of gave us a little momentum and our defense started picking up. We got some key rebounds and made some good defensive stops, and that just got the momentum going our way."

Pena also scored in double digits for the Chiefs, as he finished with 12 points.

In addition to Walker, the Steers got a double-digit scoring performance from Radovan Skokan, who had 12.

Collins said he was proud of the way the Chiefs fought back in the second half.

"But then when we got it back up and we brought ourselves together. That showed how much team chemistry we have and what kind of a team we are."

Coach Chaney was confident his team could put the brakes on the Steers in the second half.

"I knew that if we play our defense the way we play, we can stop quite a few people," Chaney said. "We play good team defense, we really do. We just stepped it up to the next level. But the great thing about this team is we've got a lot of room for improvement."

And he's not getting ahead of himself, but Chaney wants his players to feel good about the hot start to the season.

"It makes our kids feel real confident about what they do," Chaney said. "This is a good, close-knit unit. They enjoy each another and they respect one another and they're good teammates.

"It's just one game at a time now, and we need to improve each day."

The Chiefs can make a big statement in their next game Monday when they take on Class 3A power Abilene Wylie on the road at 7:30 p.m. The Bulldogs are ranked ninth in the state.

"It'll be a very good test for us," Chaney said. "It's kind of like a measuring stick. We'll find out where we are."